Nouvelles études sur le Brésil
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- Publication date
- 1872
- Topics
- Blacks
- Publisher
- Paris, E. Thorin
- Collection
- americana
- Book from the collections of
- Harvard University
- Language
- French
Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.
Introduction.--1. ptie. La forêt vierge.--2. ptie. Émancipation
Introduction.--1. ptie. La forêt vierge.--2. ptie. Émancipation
- Addeddate
- 2008-03-23 23:18:18
- Copyright-region
- US
- Identifier
- nouvellestudess00chargoog
- Identifier-ark
- ark:/13960/t0xp71f99
- Lccn
- 20010908
- Ocr
- ABBYY FineReader 8.0
- Openlibrary_edition
- OL6625789M
- Openlibrary_work
- OL7752599W
- Pages
- 288
- Possible copyright status
- NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
- Scandate
- 20070517000000
- Scanner
- Worldcat (source edition)
- 3834359
- Year
- 1872
- Full catalog record
- MARCXML
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Reviews
Reviewer:
Pedro Pradez
-
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
February 10, 2024
Subject: “Nouvelles Études sur le Brésil” by Charles Pradez: small in size, grand in reading!
Subject: “Nouvelles Études sur le Brésil” by Charles Pradez: small in size, grand in reading!
About the author and the book:
The author, Charles Pradez (1825-1885), was a Swiss merchant already residing in the city of Rio de Janeiro for 25 years when he wrote his “Nouvelles Études sur le Brésil” published in Paris in 1872. He arrived in Rio in 1843, at 18 years old, as a merchant apprentice, to work in the branch of his uncle's firm of foreign trade, the Gex & Decosterd Frères, headquartered in Bahia.
With the wise and critical eye of a foreigner, the author expressed his perceptions about the economy and politics during the Empire, especially related to slavery and emancipation. “Nouvelles Études sur le Brésil” is a short book of 268 pages, but with content that arouses interest even today. It is frequently referenced in publications on economics, as well as university theses in psychology and sociology.
The book is far from having a didactic structure, or from the standards of books and theses of the kind. In an informal narrative, Charles Pradez provided data on the economy, politics and the system of slavery of the time. He expressed his observations on everyday facts, on the slaves' way of life, on trade, on geography, and his experience living in the capital of a tropical, slave-owning country in the 19th century. Charles Pradez became acquainted with the reality of slavery in the countryside on at least two trips he made as a visitor to his hosts: a plantation farm in Juiz de Fora and another in Vassouras. In the urban environment, he saw with sadness the drama of the separation of black slave mothers from their children. Presumably, this vocation had been awakened, or sharpened, by an undeniable cultural clash between the two worlds in which he lived. One world was ruled by Swiss discipline and the family's religious heritage and the other by the Brazilian chaos and the “exotic”, which was sometimes inspiring, but troubled by slavery. Furthermore, he expressed his admiration for the Atlantic Forest (“la forêt vierge”), for the geography of Rio and, writing about the abolitionist movements, he declared his love for Brazil (J'aime beaucoup le Brésil, j'aime les Brésiliens...) which in a certain way, as a foreigner, gave him the courage to criticize the Empire's government.
Charles Pradez has become close to the imperial Family. Here a diplomatic component might also be added to the author's life experience. The firm in which he worked in Rio de Janeiro, the Gex & Decosterd Frères, and later as a partner in the firm Decosterd & Pradez, both in import and export trade, shared the same roof as the General Consulate of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, on Rua da Quitanda, in Rio de Janeiro. The Sicilian consulate had a prominent position in the Empire of Brazil. After all, the Empress Theresa Christina Maria de Bourbon-Due Sicilie was Neapolitan and she maintained firm ties with her homeland! With the return of the Swiss Louis Decosterd to Europe in 1859, his partner in the firm and also vice-consul of the Two Sicilies, Charles Pradez, then 36 years old, inherited said post. In practice, Charles Pradez acted as interim consul-general in 1861, when the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies fell and was incorporated by the Kingdom of Italy, during the Italian unification.
Considered a rare book, originals can be found in large national libraries and in several North American universities and others around the world. Interest in the book appears to have only been awakened in the 21st century. With the exception of the 1923 reprint, there have been several recent reprints of the original in French, between 2010 and 2023, almost all of them sold out.
Pedro Pradez, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
pedro.pradez@gmail.com
The author, Charles Pradez (1825-1885), was a Swiss merchant already residing in the city of Rio de Janeiro for 25 years when he wrote his “Nouvelles Études sur le Brésil” published in Paris in 1872. He arrived in Rio in 1843, at 18 years old, as a merchant apprentice, to work in the branch of his uncle's firm of foreign trade, the Gex & Decosterd Frères, headquartered in Bahia.
With the wise and critical eye of a foreigner, the author expressed his perceptions about the economy and politics during the Empire, especially related to slavery and emancipation. “Nouvelles Études sur le Brésil” is a short book of 268 pages, but with content that arouses interest even today. It is frequently referenced in publications on economics, as well as university theses in psychology and sociology.
The book is far from having a didactic structure, or from the standards of books and theses of the kind. In an informal narrative, Charles Pradez provided data on the economy, politics and the system of slavery of the time. He expressed his observations on everyday facts, on the slaves' way of life, on trade, on geography, and his experience living in the capital of a tropical, slave-owning country in the 19th century. Charles Pradez became acquainted with the reality of slavery in the countryside on at least two trips he made as a visitor to his hosts: a plantation farm in Juiz de Fora and another in Vassouras. In the urban environment, he saw with sadness the drama of the separation of black slave mothers from their children. Presumably, this vocation had been awakened, or sharpened, by an undeniable cultural clash between the two worlds in which he lived. One world was ruled by Swiss discipline and the family's religious heritage and the other by the Brazilian chaos and the “exotic”, which was sometimes inspiring, but troubled by slavery. Furthermore, he expressed his admiration for the Atlantic Forest (“la forêt vierge”), for the geography of Rio and, writing about the abolitionist movements, he declared his love for Brazil (J'aime beaucoup le Brésil, j'aime les Brésiliens...) which in a certain way, as a foreigner, gave him the courage to criticize the Empire's government.
Charles Pradez has become close to the imperial Family. Here a diplomatic component might also be added to the author's life experience. The firm in which he worked in Rio de Janeiro, the Gex & Decosterd Frères, and later as a partner in the firm Decosterd & Pradez, both in import and export trade, shared the same roof as the General Consulate of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, on Rua da Quitanda, in Rio de Janeiro. The Sicilian consulate had a prominent position in the Empire of Brazil. After all, the Empress Theresa Christina Maria de Bourbon-Due Sicilie was Neapolitan and she maintained firm ties with her homeland! With the return of the Swiss Louis Decosterd to Europe in 1859, his partner in the firm and also vice-consul of the Two Sicilies, Charles Pradez, then 36 years old, inherited said post. In practice, Charles Pradez acted as interim consul-general in 1861, when the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies fell and was incorporated by the Kingdom of Italy, during the Italian unification.
Considered a rare book, originals can be found in large national libraries and in several North American universities and others around the world. Interest in the book appears to have only been awakened in the 21st century. With the exception of the 1923 reprint, there have been several recent reprints of the original in French, between 2010 and 2023, almost all of them sold out.
Pedro Pradez, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
pedro.pradez@gmail.com
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